It took two more days before they arrived once again at the Capital of the Land of Fire.
They could've arrived sooner, but an intelligence report about Tsunade had forced them to take a detour. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dead lead, which left Kazuki a little disappointed.
And judging by the looks on their faces, Kakashi and Fox seemed just as let down.
"Wait... You two weren't planning to cash in on Tsunade-sama's legendary bad luck, were you?" Kazuki eyed them suspiciously. Kakashi coughed awkwardly but said nothing.
Fox, meanwhile, pivoted immediately. "Alright, let's head to the Daimyō's estate."
Kazuki sighed but didn't press further. He casually formed a Shadow Clone, sending it off to continue grinding Great Fireball Technique mastery.
That particular jutsu was close to leveling up again. Kazuki had been hammering away at it day and night, relentlessly building up experience. It was finally nearing the 6,000 proficiency mark.
With the clone busy training, Kazuki followed Fox to the Daimyō's palace. After presenting the Fourth Hokage's official letter, the three were granted an audience.
The Daimyō... looked just as unattractive and pompous as last time.
What followed was the usual round of political tug-of-war. Fox was clearly here on a mission: to extract funds, and Kazuki quickly realized this was less about diplomacy and more about financial negotiations. With Fox doing the talking, Kazuki and Kakashi were left to... enjoy the perks of feudal decadence.
Several beautiful palace attendants—fair-skinned, elegantly dressed, and well-endowed—knelt nearby, ready to serve them. Food, drink, massages... and probably anything else, if Kazuki had to guess.
Kazuki didn't touch a thing. Not even the tea.
Kakashi glanced at him a few times.
"What? Think I'm gonna cave?" Kazuki asked over lunch, the two of them now seated at a nearby barbecue spot. Fox was still busy negotiating, which meant the elders must've been dead set on squeezing the Daimyō for every ryō they could.
"You did co-write those stories with Jiraiya-sama..." Kakashi muttered, face a little flushed.
Just thinking about some of those scenes was enough to make his chakra circulation spike.
"They're just stories," Kazuki rolled his eyes. "Fiction is fiction. Besides, who knows if those women are even biologically safe?"
Kakashi nodded solemnly. As shinobi, there were way too many things they had to watch out for. Some of the case studies from the Academy had even been redacted by ANBU. Absolutely insane.
But Kazuki's mind was already back on what really mattered: the next upgrade.
He'd just dispatched another shadow clone to keep training Great Fireball Technique—the last one had dispelled after exhausting its chakra. Now, the progress bar finally ticked over.
A new upgrade prompt appeared beneath the technique:
[Great Fireball Technique – Upgrade Available!]
[Moonfire & Sunfire]: At night, your Great Fireball Technique's damage doubles. During the day, its area of effect doubles.
[Give Me 30 More Minutes and I'll Ascend]: Your stacked fireball usage accumulates effects. Unlocks up to three bonus abilities depending on usage.
[Great Meteor Fireball: Youth Edition]: Your fireballs rain from the sky, accompanied by falling boulders for a combo attack.
Kazuki didn't hesitate for even a second. He picked the second option.
Anything less would be an insult to the grind.
A scaling skill that grows with him? Yes, please.
Three effects for the price of one? Jackpot.
[Give Me 30 More Minutes and I'll Ascend]
30%: Inflicts Clinging Flames on impact – continuous burn effect.
65%: Fireballs can be stored – up to 75 charges.
100%: Unlocks Great Fire Susanoo.
"...Holy shit," Kazuki muttered, genuinely stunned.
He had been wondering if his obsessive fireball stacking would ever pay off, and now here it was—this single upgrade practically gave him three new jutsu.
The first effect was reminiscent of Amaterasu—a burn that lingered on the enemy like a curse. Situationally powerful.
The second let him store up to seventy-five fireballs. Sure, it wasn't the hundred he saw in the last upgrade path, but it was still absurdly powerful.
But the final reward?
It wasn't clear what it did yet—but the name alone stirred excitement.
A fire-based alternative to Susanoo, the pinnacle of Mangekyō Sharingan power?
He didn't need the Uchiha bloodline for this.
"Damn," Kazuki whispered. "At this rate, who needs a Mangekyō when I've got fire-style endgame hacks?"
Even if it was different from the real Susanoo, if it packed a fraction of that power, it was more than worth the grind.
The only problem? That 3% meant he had a long road ahead.
All that grinding, all those fireballs... and it only netted him a sliver of progress.
"Guess it's called 'give me 30 more minutes' for a reason," he grumbled.
"Why do you look like that?" Kakashi asked, eyebrow raised.
Kazuki blinked. "What?"
"You've got that face. The same one you had when you came back from the red-light district."
"I've never been to the red-light district!"
"Yeah," Kakashi deadpanned. "Not physically."
Kazuki didn't respond.
He was already mentally mapping out a plan to hit 100% as fast as humanly possible.
There would be no rest.
The Great Fireball Grind must go on.